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YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) – By day, the Daikoku Parking Area hums with transport trucks en route to and from the Port of Yokohama. On weekend evenings, it transforms into a revved-up runway of tuned-up Japanese cars. The unassuming rest stop is famous to car enthusiasts as a temple of the country’s motor culture, but it also illustrates a “youth” problem that auto companies such as Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan…

Given the sophistication of adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance in recent BMW cars, such as the M760i, you would think the company is well on its way to fully self-driving cars. During a presentation on its self-driving timeline, however, Klaus Büttner, BMW’s vice president of autonomous driving, emphasized a more cautious approach. Enlarge Image BMW is currently testing self-driving cars on public roads, using the brand Personal CoPilot for…

In a move highlighting the growing importance of electric charging stations to utilities, Italian power giant Enel has bought a small, fast-growing California developer of charging stations and power management software. Through its EnerNOC subsidiary, Enel acquired San Carlos, Calif.-based Electric Motor Werks for an undisclosed amount, in a transaction that could be a harbinger of things to come for a new generation of grid storage and power management software…

All those little car2go Smart cars that you see around Seattle? By the end of the year they’ll be gone. Car2go, the car-sharing company owned by Daimler, is replacing all the Smart cars in its Seattle fleet with Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The company has slowly been upgrading its fleet of smartphone-accessed rental cars, replacing the two-passenger Smart cars with five-passenger Mercedes vehicles. The company will offer Mercedes four-door coupes and small…

reader comments 42 You used to know where you were with BMW. It made dependable, fun-to-drive sedans, with the occasional foray into GT cars like the 6 and 8 Series. But then the car buying public went mad, and everyone decided they really wanted a wagon. But they wouldn’t buy actual wagons, apparently because of the association with mom’s station wagon from the ’70s. And they wouldn’t buy hatchbacks, either, because those…

Electric cars emit significantly less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes than diesel engines even when they are powered by the most carbon intensive energy, a new report has found. In Poland, which uses high volumes of coal, electric vehicles produced a quarter less emissions than diesels when put through a full lifecycle modelling study by Belgium’s VUB University. CO2 reductions on Europe’s cleanest grid in Sweden were a remarkable 85%,…

The BMW 530i.Hollis Johnson The BMW 5-Series is now in its seventh generation. The carmaker can’t make a bad car — but has it lost something in the thrills department? We spent a few day with a 530i to find out. BMW has had decades to set the bar, and it has gotten very good at that responsibility to the legacy of the 5-Series. It cannot disappoint, and it doesn’t….

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said its solid-state battery technology under development could be a “game changer” for electric vehicles, but that does not mean it is moving away from hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles. Having long touted fuel-cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids as the most sensible technologies to make cars greener, Japan’s top-selling automaker surprised industry watchers last year with plans to add full-sized electric vehicles (EVs) to its line-up….

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has millions of fans around the world, but it seems that Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller isn’t one of them. Müller recently participated in a conference in Germany, the theme of which was ”the future of the automobile industry.” At one point, Müller felt motivated to attack Tesla Motors, and his comments have sparked some heated discussion in Germany. Here’s an excerpt in English (you can find the original video–in…

Parts that do not need to be replaced in electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Bolt in this picture, include fan belts and air filters. The price of electric vehicles is coming down, but they still look expensive compared with many gasoline-powered cars. That comparison, though, is misleading. Once you figure in the cost of ownership, especially maintenance and fuel, electric vehicles are a bargain despite the up-front price tag….

The BMW 530i.Hollis Johnson The BMW 5-Series is now in its seventh generation. The carmaker can’t make a bad car — but has it lost something in the thrills department? We spent a few day with a 530i to find out. BMW has had decades to set the bar, and it has gotten very good at that responsibility to the legacy of the 5-Series. It cannot disappoint, and it doesn’t….

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said its solid-state battery technology under development could be a “game changer” for electric vehicles, but that does not mean it is moving away from hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles. Having long touted fuel-cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids as the most sensible technologies to make cars greener, Japan’s top-selling automaker surprised industry watchers last year with plans to add full-sized electric vehicles (EVs) to its line-up….

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has millions of fans around the world, but it seems that Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller isn’t one of them. Müller recently participated in a conference in Germany, the theme of which was ”the future of the automobile industry.” At one point, Müller felt motivated to attack Tesla Motors, and his comments have sparked some heated discussion in Germany. Here’s an excerpt in English (you can find the original video–in…

Parts that do not need to be replaced in electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Bolt in this picture, include fan belts and air filters. The price of electric vehicles is coming down, but they still look expensive compared with many gasoline-powered cars. That comparison, though, is misleading. Once you figure in the cost of ownership, especially maintenance and fuel, electric vehicles are a bargain despite the up-front price tag….

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said its solid-state battery technology under development could be a “game changer” for electric vehicles, but that does not mean it is moving away from hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles. Having long touted fuel-cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids as the most sensible technologies to make cars greener, Japan’s top-selling automaker surprised industry watchers last year with plans to add full-sized electric vehicles (EVs) to its line-up….

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp said its solid-state battery technology under development could be a “game changer” for electric vehicles, but that does not mean it is moving away from hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles. Having long touted fuel-cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids as the most sensible technologies to make cars greener, Japan’s top-selling automaker surprised industry watchers last year with plans to add full-sized electric vehicles (EVs) to its line-up….

In 2016, more than 37,000 lives were lost on American roads. We have a moral obligation to promote safe and rapid adoption of self-driving technology. Federal and industry leadership should partner to meet consumer demand for self-driving technology as swiftly and safely as possible. GARY SHAPIRO, ARLINGTON, VA. The writer is president and chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association. To the Editor: The worries about driverless cars are ill…

The BMW 530i.Hollis Johnson The BMW 5-Series is now in its seventh generation. The carmaker can’t make a bad car — but has it lost something in the thrills department? We spent a few day with a 530i to find out. BMW has had decades to set the bar, and it has gotten very good at that responsibility to the legacy of the 5-Series. It cannot disappoint, and it doesn’t….

Parts that do not need to be replaced in electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Bolt in this picture, include fan belts and air filters. The price of electric vehicles is coming down, but they still look expensive compared with many gasoline-powered cars. That comparison, though, is misleading. Once you figure in the cost of ownership, especially maintenance and fuel, electric vehicles are a bargain despite the up-front price tag….